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Genecloud and the Global Alliance

Over the course of the last year, thought leaders in genomics around the world have been holding organizational meetings with the intention to establish a “Global Alliance” to enable genomic data sharing on a massive scale. Genecloud is proud to announce that we have joined the organization — now called the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health — where we will be taking an active role in the Security Working Group.

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health is addressing one of the most fundamental questions in genomics: how do we make data available to the broadest possible set of researchers, clinicians, companies, and public institutions while still preserving the privacy of the patients involved? We believe that the Alliance is bringing together the right set of people, with the right charter, at the right time to solve this problem, and we are honored to be a part of this endeavor.

Genecloud has been a long supporter of the goals of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, having independently embarked on a similar course from our inception. When the news of the formation of the Alliance was released, we even wrote an op-ed about it. We look forward to bringing our expertise in security, privacy, and consent to bear on the challenges identified by the Alliance, and ultimately, to bringing about a future where science and individual privacy are not mutually exclusive.

Update

Here’s an article about the first plenary meeting today in London — it was a very successful meeting, and it absolutely reinforced my feeling that this organization is bringing the right set of people together at the right time, focused around the right problem.